Join us for a rally to ban fracking and offshore drilling on Saturday, December 9, from 10:30-11:30 am at Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park (601 Old Water St, Tampa, behind Amalie Arena). For the second year in a row, a bipartisan coalition of legislators is working together to make Florida the 4th state to ban fracking. But we can’t pass the bills (SB 462 and HB 237) without support from leaders in the Legislature, like House Speaker Richard Corcoran. Additionally, legislation supporting extending the moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf has been introduced in the state legislature (HR 319 and SR 550).

We need to show Florida legislators, especially Speaker Corcoran, that they must stand and protect the health and livelihoods of Floridians by ensuring fracking is banned and drilling isn’t allowed off our shores. Big Oil and Gas will stop at nothing to ensure legislators do their bidding in Tallahassee. We must send a strong message that Speaker Corocran and all our legislators must represent Floridians NOT polluters.

Summary:
The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) supports environmental protections, renewable energy, clean air, food and water for all Floridians.
Resolution Language:
WHEREAS, the FDP seeks environmental justice through careful stewardship of our land, air, and water, and sustainable growth management of our infrastructure development;
WHEREAS, Floridians must have access to clean, safe drinking water and food and Florida’s aquifer is already compromised from overuse and polluted runoff. We must protect Florida’s beaches, waterways, and unique ecosystems that are on the verge of collapse;
WHEREAS, The adverse impacts of extreme weather events, saltwater intrusion into the aquifer, shoreline erosion, rising sea levels, spreading invasive species, algae blooms, fish kills, droughts, floods, wildfires, and loss of biodiversity negatively impact Floridians unique ecological habitats upon which our livelihoods and quality of life depend.THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, Florida must invest in renewable solar and wind energy sources, as migrating Florida’s power grid to renewable solar and wind sources will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and their associated human health impacts while improving economic opportunity in Florida.
Florida Democrats oppose hydraulic fracturing, acid fracturing and well-stimulation (fracking), the construction, operation, and funding of the Sabal Trail, and other projects that the negative environmental impacts outweigh the economic value.
Florida Democrats will encourage the use of reusable and recycled containers and products in lieu of plastics.BE IT ALSO RESOLVED, The Florida Democratic Party calls upon our state legislators to propose and/or support legislation that will uphold these environmental protections and support pro-environmental policies that help create better paying jobs and a living wage.

Political, industrial and civil leaders are strengthening and implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Yet current state pledges cover no more than a third of the emission reductions needed, creating a dangerous gap, which even growing momentum from non-state actors cannot close. This report highlights the dangers of that gap, the issues behind it and the means at our disposal to close it.

Greenhouse gas emissions

]]>Pollution kills 9 million per year: Lancethttp://environmentalcaucus.com/pollution-kills-9-million-per-year-lancet/
Sat, 21 Oct 2017 13:11:56 +0000http://environmentalcaucus.com/?p=7538Pollution is killing up to 9 million people every single year across the planet. As grimly expected, most of these deaths – 92 percent – are in middle-to-low income countries. This makes the unnatural phenomenon, which is responsible for one-in-6 deaths worldwide, more deadly than anything else, including natural disasters, famine, and war.

Information below was extracted from the SFWMD Environmental Conditions Report for 2017-07-18.

Lake Okeechobee

‘Lake stage is 12.56 feet NGVD having increased by 0.12 feet over the past week and 0.63 feet over the past month. Ascension rates over the past three weeks were much slower than they were throughout most of June. Conditions continue to be favorable for algal blooms in northern portions of the Lake based on satellite imagery from early to mid-July, with the first blooms and microcystin detections reported in late June’s water quality samples………

The most recent satellite imagery (July 9 and July 16) indicates that the bloom potential seems to be further intensifying in the northern portion of the Lake in general, with the northeastern and western regions, but now also the central portion of the Lake, with potentially elevated chlorophyll values…….”.